Drying Chillies With A Dehydrator. Everything You Need To Know About One Of The Most Popular Ways Of Preserving Chillies

Before we start, lets look at the sole limitation of this technique.

- the only real limitation is that this process is not suitable for freshly picked green chillies. They turn black and the ones that don't rot taste terrible. For drying fresh green chillies you need to use the pasado technique. Thick fleshed varieties such as Jalapenos , Roccotos , or most of the New Mexican varieties work very well in the dehydrator. This is a distinct advantage over air drying which is not usually fast enough to dry the flesh of these varieties before they begin to rot.

One more thing before we start. If you are looking for some information on dehydrators, visit our dehydrator page . It doesn't contain in-depth reviews, but if you have not used one before or are looking to buy one, then it may be of some help.

OK,

Step 1 - Sort through your chillies and remove any that fruit that have black spots as these will usually rot and/or go mouldy.

Step 2 - You must split the chillies open. It's up to personal choice whether you remove the pith, seeds and stem or not. I do, as I am really after the flavour of the chilli, not as much heat as I can get. I simply cut off the stem, then cut the fruit in half lengthways, then scrape the seeds and pith out together. That's it !

Step 4 - Lay the scraped out chillies inside-up on the trays of the dehydrator.

Step 5 - Put the lid on and let the drying begin !

Your next question, of course, is; How long do they take to dry ? This is where we have to experiment and learn what works for you in your environment with your chilllies.

Things that affect the drying time are many and include;

• amount of fruit you are drying
• the type of chillies you are drying
• altidude
• the external temperature
• the external humidity
• the temperature setting
• the power of the dehydrator

Don't start freaking out. Dehydrating is a slow process and is essentially something you can't get wrong. As a rule of thumb, 1kg of chillies (not thick fleshy ones) will take 7-8 hours on 45 degrees Centigrade.

YOU KNOW THEY'RE DRY WHEN THEY SNAP INSTEAD OF BEND. The thicker fleshed chillies may not quite reach this stage, i.e. they will flex a little, However, they will still store safely.

Step 6 - Store your newly dried chillies in airtight containers and preferably out of direct sunlight as this tends to shorten the shelf life.

DO NOT put your dried chillies into plastic bags unless, for some reason, you intend to freeze them. The film used for most plastic bags allows oxygen to pass through it freely meaning your chillies will oxidise and break down as fast as if they were sitting in the open air.

Check your container of chillies after the first four or five days. If there is any moisture on the sides then you need to dry your chillies a little more. If not then they're done to perfection.

In an airtight container, out of direct sunlight, your dried chillies will last for years.

Step 7 - Use your dried chillies. You have two main options here.

First, you can grind the chillies to flakes or powder when required. Use a coffee grinder, food processor, or mortar and pestle to grind them down to the size that you're after. CAUTION - take care not to get chilli powder in your eyes or lungs !

Secondly, they can he rehydrated by simply soaking it hot water for 10 minutes. They are then ready for use.

At this point you are ready to start trying out some chilli recipes or barbecuing.